Yes, Vitamin E is good for you!

Guess what? Yet another study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 2011;306 (14):1549-1556) found that taking vitamin E may raise the risk of prostate cancer. The study also reported that the men in the study taking just vitamin E (and not selenium) were at a 17% increased risk of developing prostate cancer. It was noted that the COMBINATION of vitamin E and selenium did NOT increase cancer risk. How does that work?? Hmmm…. Let’s check out a few things about the study before we make any decisions on this, OK?

First of all, there were 21 authors that contributed to this study, of which SEVEN had Conflict of Interest Disclosures all dealing with major pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline…including one author who is a board member of the Merck pharmaceutical company. Realize that those with conflict of interest issues have been given grants and research support, travel support, payment for lectures, grants for the institutions they work for, consulting fees & payment for presenting educational sessions to pharmaceutical companies---all this from huge pharmaceutical companies who have much to lose and nothing to gain if a study shows that vitamins and basic nutrients reduce the risk of cancer.

Secondly, this study used a synthetic form of vitamin E (rac-alpha-tocopherol or dl-tocopherol) which is less available for use by our bodies & considered half as potent as the natural form (RRR-natural-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol). Hmmm…one would think (obviously in a perfect world) that the best quality products would be used to provide the best data for the study…’Not So Much’ in this case!

Lastly (I could go on, but I want to keep this as brief as possible): vitamins weren’t meant to be taken alone…as in just taking some vitamin E…or even vitamin E and selenium. The ‘whole foods’ we eat (meaning not-processed foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, high-quality meats…) provide a wide array of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are designed to WORK TOGETHER—in synergy. That’s the value of taking a daily Multivitamin/mineral supplement as we realize the real-life challenges in consuming the appropriate amounts of high-quality foods to provide our bodies what they need each day. And that’s why it’s surprising (& frustrating!) to see ‘medical’ studies that continue to pull out one or two specific nutrients to test their value when studies have repeatedly shown the effectiveness high-quality blends of nutrients (as in a Multivitamin/mineral supplement). Holford, P: The New Optimum Nutrition Bible

Hopefully this is helpful in deciphering just what this last study is telling---or not telling us: there was/is great potential for personal interests to cloud some of the authors’ objectivity in the study…using a product that is poor quality will probably lead to poor results…and, most importantly, nutrients are not meant to be taken in isolation, rather as balanced blends that are easy for our bodies to use and benefit from. There are specific cases where additional nutrients can be beneficial in addition to a solid Multivitamin/mineral foundation----we’ll keep that for another posting! And speaking of postings…I plan on regular posting once again, now that I’m in my Master Herbalist Program, giving a ‘nutshell’ version of various herbs…Stay tuned! To your long-term health— Sana